For 20 weeks this summer and fall, enjoy the freshest possible produce from a farmer you see each week.

At CloverCroft we offer a traditional CSA share, and a pack-your-own-share option for people that come to the farm. We attend two farmers markets for those that like full choice without a subscription.

CloverCroft offers a limited number of work shares and barter arrangements. In exchange for a set period of work each week, we’re happy to send you home with a share of vegetables.

What is a CSA?

CSA stands for Community Shared Agriculture: In late winter members buy a share or subscription of the farms produce, paying at a time of year when we farmers badly need the capital to buy seeds and tools and soil amendments.

Then for 21 weeks, starting in June, our members have weekly access to vegetables harvested as fresh as possible: From a farm whose growing practices they know; from a farmer they can interact with, encourage and give feedback to. It's an avenue to connect to your food in a way that shows off the realities of growing: To partake in the ups and downs of a season, to support local food security and a farming ideology that can be sustained beyond ourselves. One which endows the next generation rather than borrowing from it.

The Benefits: A traditional CSA box is a marvellous thing. It's easily the most cost effective way to access our produce: An average weekly share offers better value than the Organic section of the grocery store, and sometimes better than the conventional produce too. Freshness can't be understated: Because you get food directly from the farm, we can harvest it the day before or even the day of. This allows us to select varieties of vegetables that are nutrient packed and taste the best. Vegetables that come from far away sacrifice taste and nutrient load so that the produce can travel far and store well and be "ripe" when upon arrival. The connection to your food and community encourages a local and sustainable food system. Buying a CSA share, or from a farmer at the market, gives access to nearly 6 months of fresh vegetables in your kitchen, which encourages you to eat at home, eat healthy, eat fresh, and eat local. Your body will thank you.

Things to consider: A traditional CSA is not for everyone. For half the year, someone else is choosing what veg you bring home. We grow a great variety here, and curate our boxes well and diversely. Committing to a weekly pickup can be inconvenient for some families. Missed weeks can feel like a loss of value, unless you have a backup friend or family member who can take your share while you're away (which is a wonderful way to share the love). To truly benefit from a CSA share, you'll be a versatile cook, who likes most vegetables, and can make the weekly commitment.

Your Vegetable Options with CloverCroft Farm:

The Pre-Packed CloverCroft CSA is available already boxed at our farmers markets (Trinity Bellwoods, Toronto - Tuesday PM), as well as Toronto drop sites (listed below) in Etobicoke, and Cabbagetown. Members Picking up at the farm market stand are offered one trade from the market table.

Market Style CSA! For those that want it all: Picking-up at the farm comes with one fantastic benefit: You get to choose your share each week. Most CSA’s which decide which vegetables will be in your share each week. Not so at the farm on Thursday nights.

On Thursday picking up each week for CloverCroft farm members means seeing everything laid out like a farmers market and choosing what you want. If you don't like onions: don't take them. If you've never eaten bok choi, or orange cauliflower: give it a try, or don't. Take extra carrots instead.

Farmers Markets: If a subscription doesn't fit your lifestyle, joining us at the farmers market is an amazing way to support the farm.

Toronto Prepacked CSA Bag Drop-Sites:

CSA ADD-ON OPTIONS

Organic Egg Share

Add weekly eggs to your small or large share CSA

$135 for 20 dozen eggs

CloverCroft Eggs are the top of the line. Raised outside all season long, The Ladies Who Lunch enjoy a fresh salad bar daily: organic grains, grasses and clovers, bugs and worms, and they move to new pastures each week. This holistic management produces eggs that are high in omega 3's, vitamins A & E, beta carotene, and lower in cholesterol.

Community Giving

When you sign up for your CSA share, you can choose to donate to our community giving program. Your donation is matched by the farm, and we donate the sum of all the members to the Paris Food Bank. Together in 2018 we donated more than $2500 of healthy fresh produce to our local community.

2016 Large Share

Salad Turnips, Thumbelina Carrots, MultiColour Beans

2016 Paris Market at Wincey Mills

As your farmers We commit to:

grow healthy food: we choose nutrient-dense flavour-rich varieties

meet or exceed requirements of Canadian Organic Standards

meet or exceed public health and safety guidelines

be transparent around farm revenue, pricing strategy, etc.

answer your questions

nurture your connection to food, and to our community

As a member you commit to:

pick up each week at predetermined times

make arrangements for a missed week (see below

bring your own bags (or egg cartons for egg-shares)

ask questions, educate yourselves

give constructive feedback; help us grow

visit, see how we grow

Engage in the farm. Join us at a potluck, or member event. If you're game: volunteer

Missed Weeks:

Its summer and fall: I fully expect that you may be going away at some point. If you won't be able to collect your veg one week, you have several options, please just let us know ahead by text or email:

+ missed / forgotten pickups of pre-packed shares will be donated to the food bank +

Some of the veggies you can expect in a good season:

Early (June/July)

Spinach

Green Onions

Garlic Scapes

Peas

Green Beans

Arugula

Swiss Chard

Kale

Radishes

Lettuce

Mixed Baby Greens

Spicy Mixed Greens

Salad Turnips

Beets

Broccoli

Zucchini

Seasonal Herbs

Mid (August/September)

Head Lettuce

Mixed Baby Greens

Spicy Mixed Greens

Kale

Peas

Green Beans

Swiss Chard

Onions

Cherry Tomatoes

Beans

Carrots

Garlic

Peppers

Cauliflower

Eggplant

Zucchini

Seasonal Herbs

Late (October/November)

Potatoes

Onions

Carrots

Garlic

Winter Squash

Radish

Spinach

Arugula

Kale

Swiss Chard

Mixed Baby Greens

Spicy Mixed Greens

Cabbage

Brussels Sprouts

Turnip

Broccoli

Seasonal Herbs

Some realities of CSA's and Growing for Market:

A farming season can be unpredictable: crop failures are always a risk. So are hailstorms. A CSA/Market Garden can mitigate this risk by growing a wide variety of veggies for you: "The eggplants all died?!?! Well that is indeed a tragedy. But wait, check out how big the peppers are this year!" Joining a CSA lets you connect with how food truly is subject to nature, in a way that can't be covered up by switching farms or countries of origin [and increasing the price] the way the grocery store can.

Common feedback for a CSA share is that their produce can become repetitive. "More Kohlrabi?!" We curate our box realistically based on what most people like to eat. While salad greens and carrots and potatoes appear regularly, uncommon veg just gets a guest appearance once or twice. Members who pickup at the farm includes the added bonus of full choice of all our produce: Your share size dictates how many items you may take each week, and you can build your own share from there.

We will grow a wide variety of vegetables, pretty darn well, but not at a masters level. Monoculturalists focus on one thing, and they can grow a kick-butt looking carrot, but they have to focus on a carrot that looks nice and ships well to a broad market. At CloverCroft's scale we can't compete with that kind of specialized growing equipment, scale, and packaging. Instead we compete by knowing that our produce makes it your fridge fast, usually the same day it's picked. Since freshness is guaranteed, I can focus on growing a tastier and more nutritious product for you, though it may not always look like it.

A caveat: 2019 is our fourth season. We're very excited about this and have been dreaming about growing food for a community for years. We've learned a lot so far, and feel comfortable growing food. Four seasons in, I'm still quite terrified, but also still very enthusiastic coming off of our successful first three seasons, and working through a really damaging windstorm. I still expect there to be hiccups along the way. My hope is that we can grow together through the harder times this year and that you as my members can help me out with frequent [and hopefully diplomatic] feedback.